- Solomon assembles the congregation of Israel in the high place at Gibeon and makes burnt offerings at a brass altar. Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge from God, which pleases the Lord. Consequently, he is rewarded also with riches, wealth, and honor. #2Cr1
- To prepare for building the temple, Solomon trades wheat, barley, wine, and oil with Hiram, king of Tyre, for cedar, fir, and algum logs. Hiram sends Huram-Abi, a skilled craftsman in stonecutting, metalwork (gold, silver, brass, & iron), timber, and engraving, to Solomon. #2Cr2
- Solomon builds the temple on the land bought from Araunah the Jebusite. The dimensions of the house and portico are given. The house is overlaid with gold and precious stones. Sculptured cherubim span the walls. Its ceilings are of fir, and it has pomegranate designs. #2Cr3
- Furnishings of the temple include the golden altar, a sea for priestly ablution ringed by oxen sculptures, lavers, candlesticks & tables. Huram makes chapiters and pomegranates for the pillars, snuffers and sprinkling bowls of gold, and overlays the doors with brass & gold. #2Cr4
- The treasures of David are brought into the temple. The priests place the ark beneath the cherubim. An uncountable number of sheep and oxen are sacrificed. Trumpets and cymbals sound, and the Lord in the form of a cloud fill the house. He is good; his love endures forever. #2Cr5
- Solomon dedicates the Lord’s house before the congregation of Israel. It holds the covenant of the ark of thy strength containing the tablets of Moses. He asks for forgiveness of thy people Israel (for there is no man which sinneth not), and to deliver them from captivity. #2Cr6
- The dedication feast lasts 7 days, with 22000 oxen & 20000 sheep sacrificed. The house fills with the glory of the Lord, who tells Solomon I have heard thy prayer. The Lord reaffirms his covenant, but if Israel forsakes me, they will be plucked away & the temple destroyed. #2Cr7
- Solomon takes 20 years to build the temple and builds cities restored to him by Hiram (cf. 1Kg9). Non-Israelites are made slaves. He builds a palace for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, as she shall not dwell in holy places. Solomon makes burnt offerings and follows the Lord. #2Cr8
- The queen of Sheba brings spices, gold & precious stones, & marvels at Solomon’s riches & wisdom. Solomon’s throne is ivory & his drinking vessels gold. Ships from Tarshish bring gold, silver, ivory, apes & peacocks. After a 40 year reign, Solomon sleeps with his fathers. #2Cr9
- Repeating #1Kg12, Solomon’s son Rehoboam becomes king of Israel and puts a heavy yoke on the workers. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Jeroboam of Ephraim, son of Nabat, returns from Egypt & leads Israel to rebel against Rehoboam. #2Cr10
- Rehoboam leads & fortifies Judah and Benjamin, though they refrain from fighting the rebels. The Levites throughout Israel return to Jerusalem when Jeroboam ordains priests for devils and calves he had made. Rehoboam strengthened Judah, and had many wives & children. #2Cr11
- Rehoboam forsakes the law of the Lord. Egypt attacks and takes the fortified cities and treasures of Jerusalem’s temple and palace. Rehoboam humbles himself so the Lord does not destroy him. Judah & Israel continually war. Rehoboam dies and is succeeded by his son Abijah. #2Cr12
- Abijah, with 400000 men, taunts Jeroboam, with 800000: You rebelled when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, & worship golden calves. For us, the Lord is our God. Israel ambushes Judah, but God delivers Israel unto Judah, who slay 500000. The Lord strikes Jeroboam dead. #2Cr13
- Asa becomes Judah’s king when Abijah dies. He does good in the eyes of the Lord & destroys high places, altars of strange gods, & Asherah poles. Asa’s army battles the Ethiopian Zerah. Asa cries to the Lord. Judah prevails, pursuing Zerah to Gerar & taking much spoil. #2Cr14
- The prophet Obed & his son Azariah tell Asa the Lord is with you if ye be with him. Asa rids the land of idols (even his mother’s), & gathers Judah, Benjamin & strangers out of Ephraim, Manasseh & Simeon to swear unto the Lord. War ceased until the 36th year of Asa’s rule. #2Cr15
- Baasha, king of Israel, fortifies Ramah against Judah. Asa allies with Ben-Hadad of Syria, relieving Judah of the threat. The seer Hanani tells Asa to rely only on the Lord; henceforth thou shalt have wars. Asa imprisons Hanani, becomes diseased in his feet, and dies. #2Cr16
- Asa is succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, who followed the ways of the Lord. He fortified the cities of Judah & sent Levites to teach there. He waxed exceedingly great, gains tribute from Philistines & Arabians, builds castles & cities, & is surrounded by valiant men. #2Cr17
- Jehoshaphat allies with Israel’s King Ahab to attack Ramoth-gilead (#1Kg22). Ahab summons 400 prophets who say God will deliver it into the king’s hand. Prophet Micaiah agrees, but this enticement will lead to Ahab’s death. Though disguised, Ahab is killed by an arrow. #2Cr18
- Jehu, son of Hanani the seer, rebukes Jehoshaphat for helping the ungodly, but praises him for ridding the land of Asherah poles. Jehoshaphat sets judges to the cities of Judah: Take heed what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. #2Cr19
- Moab & Ammon rise up. Jehoshaphat addresses Judah and asks the Lord for help. The Levite Jahaziel says, Be not afraid; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. They go to fight, but find only dead and plunder. Moab & Ammon had attacked Seir, but then destroyed each other. #2Cr20
- Jehoshaphat dies & his son Jehoram reigns. He weds Ahab’s daughter, builds high places, compels whoredom, & slays his 6 brothers. Elijah warns Jehoram that he will die when his bowels fall out, as happens. His wives, sons (except Ahaziah) & Judah’s treasure are taken away. #2Cr21
- Because Arabians had killed his brother, Ahaziah becomes king of Judah. With Jehoram, he fights the Syrians. Jehu slays both of them, as well as the sons of Ahab. Athalia kills all the royal seed except for Joash, who was hidden away, and claims the throne of Judah. #2Cr22
- Priest Jehoida gathers forces and makes plans to install Joash so that the line of David will again rule Judah. They surround the temple & anoint Joash king. Athalia hears the rejoicing & cries treason. She and her supporters are slain & the temple of Baal is destroyed. #2Cr23
- Jehoida spurs Joash to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. To repair the temple, Joash gathers taxes in a chest that the people fill with offerings. Jehoida dies & Joash returns to evil ways, worshipping Asherah poles & idols. Aram sacks Jerusalem. Joash is slain. #2Cr24
- His son Amaziah is Judah’s king. He kills those who slayed his father, but not their children. He hires men of Israel to attack Edom’s Seir, but sends them away. He slaughters Edom, but worships their gods. He threatens Israel, who attack & sack Judah. Amaziah is slain. #2Cr25
- Amaziah’s son Azariah is made Judah’s king. When he did right in the sight of the Lord, building cities, towers & walls, he fought successfully against Philistines & Arabians. Then he burned incense in the temple, was confronted by priests, became leprous, & died a leper. #2Cr26
- Jotham succeeded his father Azariah as Judah’s king. He followed the Lord, built the temple’s high gate, cities in Judah, castles and towers. He prevailed against Ammon, receiving tribute of silver, barley, & wheat. Then he slept with his fathers, and his son Ahaz reigned. #2Cr27
- Ahaz makes images of Baal, burns incense in high places & sacrifices children. Thus Judah is delivered unto Syria & attacked by Israel, who kill 20000 men in a day & capture 200000 (who are returned). Ahaz allies with Assyria, worships their gods & fights Edom & Philistia. #2Cr28
- Hezekiah reigns after Ahaz dies. He repairs & purifies the temple. The priests make burnt offerings of rams, goats & lambs to the Lord, & sprinkle goats’ blood on the altar. Music & songs of praise, as David ordained, fill the temple. The house of the Lord is set in order. #2Cr29
- Hezekiah proclaims to all Israel to come to Jerusalem and celebrate Passover. Be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord. Many mocked, but others came. Passover lambs were slaughtered & their blood sprinkled. And all that came rejoiced. #2Cr30
- Filled with the spirit of the Lord, the worshippers go through Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, & Manasseh destroying images and cutting down Asherah poles. Hezekiah appoints Levites & priests to collect tithes & offerings. The abundance is distributed to priests in Judah. #2Cr31
- Assyria’s king Sennacherib threatens Judah. Hezekiah fortifies Jerusalem and calls for strength & courage. Sennacherib tells how he exiled other nations. Isaiah cries to heaven. The Lord’s angel destroys Assyria. Hezekiah gains riches & honor, prospers in his work, & dies. #2Cr32
- Manasseh rules 52 years & is evil: he builds high places, Asherah poles, altars in the temple, and sacrifices children. Assyria takes Manasseh, bound in fetters, to Babylon. He humbles himself, returns to & restores Jerusalem. He dies. His evil son Amon rules & is slain. #2Cr33
- Amon’s son Josiah rules 30 years and does good. He repairs the temple & rids Judah of high places, altars of Baal & Asherah poles. A book of the Mosaic law is found & given to Josiah, who rends his clothes because the law had not been kept. Prophetess Huldah reassures him. #2Cr34
- Judah celebrates Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread, slaughtering 30000 lambs, 3000 bulls, 2600 calves & 300 oxen. The Passover lambs’ blood is sprinkled on the altar following Mosaic law. Josiah fights Necho of Egypt, is wounded by arrows & dies. Jeremiah laments. #2Cr35
- Egypt’s king dethrones Josiah’s son Jehoahaz & installs his evil brother Jehoiakim, who pays Egypt a levy of gold & silver. NkB sends him in bronze fetters to Babylon & makes his son Jehoiachin & then his uncle Zedekiah king. NkB sacks Jerusalem & exiles Judah to Babylon. #2Cr36
